Launch of Alliance for Action to help hoarders in Singapore through whole-of-society approach

Jan 22, 2025

The Ministry of National Development, Ministry of Social and Family Development and key partners have launched an Alliance for Action, named New Environment Action Team (NEAT)^[1], to better coordinate hoarding management efforts and build capabilities across the public, people and private (3P) sectors to address hoarding issues in a more holistic and sustainable manner. 

Hoarding behaviour often stems from complex and deep-seated causes – it could be a symptom of underlying mental health conditions, social isolation, trauma or deep grief.  In severe cases, hoarding poses health and safety risks and dis-amenities to the home occupants and neighbours.

The underlying motivations for hoarding and availability of family support networks can vary from case to case. With changing demographics including an ageing population, the number of hoarding cases may rise in Singapore.  To address this effectively, a whole-of-society approach is needed to identify cases early and intervene upstream in a sustainable manner.  Refer to Annex A for more information on ongoing Government efforts to tackle hoarding.

NEAT comprises 28 members from government agencies, social service agencies, community groups and private organisations.  The members include social service agencies who have extensive experience supporting hoarders and spotting at-risk cases, and community groups experienced in decluttering homes or befriending hoarders.  They also include trade and industry associations who want to contribute to decluttering and refreshing homes. 

Government agencies from the Hoarding Management Core Group (HMCG) will support NEAT as members of the AfA and continue to leverage their regulatory levers to intervene where disamenities are severe. Refer to Annex B for the list of members in this AfA, whose terms of reference are:

• Coordinate geographical coverage, and optimise available resources and volunteers, to sustainably handle current and future volume of hoarding cases.

• Tap each other’s expertise and strengths and raise capabilities through sharing of best practices.

• Promote greater family and community involvement in early identification of potential hoarders, engaging hoarders, supporting decluttering, and prevention of re-hoarding.

• Develop expertise amongst social service agencies (SSAs) to foster lasting, positive change in hoarders’ psychosocial circumstances and hoarding behaviour.

Since January 2024, the Municipal Services Office (MSO) and MSF have been actively engaging and consulting NEAT members, and had joined some of the social service agencies and community groups in their decluttering operations at Boon Lay, Buona Vista and Pasir Ris. All members agreed that a whole-of-society approach can improve the management of hoarding issues within the community. This AfA is a formalisation of these ongoing exchanges and engagements, and the members came up with the name, NEAT.  

NEAT is co-chaired by Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Foreign Affairs, and Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Social and Family Development. Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration is the Advisor to the AfA.

“Addressing hoarding in a holistic manner requires us to go beyond just decluttering and refreshing homes. We need to create a robust support system to shift behaviour, strengthen community support, and prevent recurrence. This requires us to build long-term relationships and trust with the affected individuals and their families, and it’s not an easy task. The New Environment Action Team (NEAT) will bring together the collective expertise of its members to better engage families affected by hoarding,” said Minister Desmond Lee.

“Hoarding is a complex issue that requires a whole-of-society effort to manage. Each member of the AfA brings unique expertise and experience to the table, and by sharing these insights and learning from one another, we can improve our approach to tackling hoarding. When families and communities are engaged in early identification, intervention, and support, it creates a strong foundation for sustainable change and prevention of re-hoarding,” said Mr Francis Foo, National Director, Habitat for Humanity Singapore.

Mr Roy Khoo, Treasurer and Co-Chair of CSR of The Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL), said: “SCAL, with our wide member base of varying expertise, can assist the community groups with repairs and improvement works during decluttering exercises. With upfront planning with other AfA members, SCAL can coordinate and prepare the necessary materials and manpower to refresh affected homes. SCAL will also conduct training sessions for volunteers to paint homes and conduct basic plumbing repairs when they declutter or refresh homes.”

The AfA also aims to raise awareness of the hoarding situation in Singapore, as they explore preventive measures to tackle the issue upstream in a sustainable manner. Further updates on the AfA’s initiatives will be shared in due course.

Issued By : MND and MSF

Date: 21 January 2025

^[1] Chinese name: 家居整理行动联盟

Background information on ongoing Government efforts to tackle hoarding

The Government has taken an inter-agency approach to address hoarding because of its complexity and potentially fatal public hazards. The Hoarding Management Core Group (HMCG), led by the Municipal Services Office (MSO), was set up in 2014 to coordinate efforts across agencies and resolve protracted and severe hoarding cases. The HMCG comprises HDB, NEA, AVS, a cluster of NParks, SCDF, MSF, PA, and AIC.

HMCG’s assessment of hoarding cases

Hoarding cases are surfaced by HMCG agencies, and are assessed and prioritised based on whether there is threat to public health and safety.  Agencies will issue orders or take enforcement action on the hoarder or homeowner when established rules and laws are violated. For example, NEA may order the owner to remove items contributing to vector infestations in their home, while SCDF may order the owner to cease hoarding flammable items such as fuel. AVS will also act against the hoarding of animals within a HDB flat where animals are harmed. Separately, Town Councils may require owners to remove hoarding in the common areas.

The HMCG considers community and social interventions in tandem with enforcement efforts. If the hoarder is suspected to have mental health issues, the hoarder will be referred to the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for professional assessment and treatment. Agencies also work closely with healthcare workers, community partners such as social workers from Family Service Centres, grassroots leaders, volunteers and the hoarders’ family members in a concerted effort to resolve hoarding cases.

The HMCG has achieved some progress in managing hoarding cases. As of June 2024, we have managed to reduce the severity of 270 cases of hoarding and are actively monitoring these cases to prevent recurrence.

Challenges in managing complex hoarding cases

The HMCG is working on another 357 active hoarding cases, up from 253 in December 2021. These complex cases remain protracted and unresolved because it is difficult to gain hoarders’ cooperation to declutter.  Frontline officers face real tensions on the ground in balancing between how hoarders choose to upkeep their own home and their neighbours’ enjoyment of their own residences, especially in cases where the clutter does not meet the threshold for public health and safety risks as determined by SCDF and NEA.

In such cases, officers need to obtain the cooperation of the hoarder to accede to the decluttering process. This involves repeated engagements, persuasion, and at times, referrals to social workers and/or mental health professionals. We have encountered cases where hoarders refuse to grant access for inspections or cooperate in decluttering efforts. Even when their homes had been successfully decluttered in an earlier attempt, the deep seated issues behind the behaviour may still result in recurrence of hoarding, as behavioural change is unlikely to happen overnight.

CDRT mechanisms to address hoarding

Affected neighbours can consider filing a case at the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT). If the hoarding has caused unreasonable interference to the neighbours’ enjoyment of their properties, the CDRT can order the hoarder to declutter his unit.  If the hoarder ignores the CDRT order, the new Community Relations Unit (CRU) pilot within MSO, which will start operations at Tampines HDB estates from Q2 2025, can apply to the CDRT for an order to enforce the earlier decluttering order.

If such an order to enforce is granted by the CDRT, MSO’s Community Relations Officers will be authorised to enter the unit in question, remove and dispose of hoarded material causing unreasonable interference to the neighbours; and take any other actions as specified by the Court. This is a measure of last resort, premised on public interest, after existing regulatory levers from frontline agencies have been exhausted.

Notwithstanding the levers available to Government agencies, enforcement is not suitable for all cases. Hoarders’ underlying motivations and family support networks vary from case to case.  There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and enforcement is only one of several measures that agencies use to tackle hoarding issues.  A whole-of-society approach is thus needed to address hoarding in a more holistic and sustainable manner. 

Annex B

Members of the New Environment Action Team (NEAT)

Co-chairpersons:

Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Foreign Affairs

Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Social and Family Development

Advisor:

Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration

Members: